Insect-destroying device



Aug. 1 1950 M. GNOINSKY, SR 2,516,977

INSECT DESTROYING DEvIdE Filed O'ot. 22, 1948* a Sheets-Sheet 2 (3' Q a i 0 INVENTOR.

L MICHAEL a/vom/sxy, 82.

' Arrae/vlsys.

g- 1950 M.;GNOINSKY, SR

I INSECT DESTROYING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet :5

F'iied' Get. 22. 1949 IN V EN TOR. M/CHAEL G/VOf/VS/f )1 61?.

ATTOIQIVEYS.

.ure 3.

.side frame members Ill.

inwardly of the housings 40.

teral directions.

able manner, not shown.

- forwardly of the hopper.

I 3 arms 28 fixed thereon adjacent each frame member [0. The crank arms 23 are pivoted to pitmans 29 by crank pins 30. The forward ends of the pitmans 29 are pivoted to a cross-shaft 3| extending transversely of the hopper forwardly thereof. A pair of journals 32 are readily detachably secured to the forward edges of the side frame members It in any suitable manner, as by screws or bolts, not shown. The journals 32 mount therebetween a cross-Shaft 33 which has secured thereto a plurality of laterally-spaced, rearwardly-directed, fixed guides 34 which preferably comprise wires. The rear ends of the guides 34 are upwardly offset and readily detachably seated in sockets 35 provided in the forward edge of the forward cross-frame member 18. A plurality of rearwardly-directed, laterally-spaced agitators 36 have their forward ends pivoted on the cross-shaft 3| and intermediate portions looped, as at 31, about the cross-shaft 33, whereby the agitators are pivotally mounted on the crossshafts 3| and 33. The agitators 36 include a plurality of rearwardly-directed agitator fingers 38 which extend downwardly and rearwardly to terminate just'forwardly of the cross-frame member [8. It follows from the foregoing that as the crankshaft 21 is rotated, the agitators 35 are rocked about the axes of the cross-shafts 3| and 33, whereby the agitator fingers 38 are reciprocated vertically, as indicated in broken lines, Fig- This action of the agitator fingers 36 serves to beat any vegetation growing in the field in the path of the hopper to disturb insects clinging thereto and cause them to fly or leap upwardly forwardly of the hopper. To retard latera1 escape of such disturbed insects from the path of the hopper, and to force the insects into the hopper, means now to be described have been provided. 4

To prevent the escape of the disturbed insects from the path of the hopper in lateral directions,-

, there has been provided a pair of blower housings 40 which are located on opposite sides of the hopper and supported by upper and lower brackets 44 and 45 which extend outwardly from the The brackets 44 and 45 have vertical shafts 4i journaled therein and mount any suitable impeller blades 43 thereon Each of the housings 40 is provided with a substantially verticallydisposed, forwardly-directed outlet nozzle 42 which is adapted to direct the wall-like blast of air forwardly of the hopper on either side thereof. The impellers 43 are driven by any suitable means to be described later, and the blasts from the blowers provide invisible walls of air retarding the escape of insects in the path of the device in lat- As clearly seen in Figure 2, the nozzles 42 are slightly inwardly directed, whereby any insects encountering the blasts issuing from the nozzles will be blown laterally inwardly slightly so as. to be retained in the path of the hopper.

To drive the disturbed insects into the hopper,

there has been provided means now to be described. A pair of side frame extensions 46 extend forwardly and vertically relative to the side frame members ill. The extensions 46 are secured to the side frame members If) in any suitmembers 41 are secured to the upper edges of the extensions 46 and have an'impeller shaft 48 journaled thereon. Thus, the impeller shaft 43 extends transversely of the device upwardly and J ournal-providing 3 Any suitable impeller" 49 is fixed to the shaft 48 for rotation therewith inwardly of a blower housing 56. The blower housing 50 is provided with an elongated discharge nozzle 51 which is downwardly and rearwardly directed into the hopper. Thus, as the agitator fingers 38 disturb the insects and cause them to leap or fiy upwardly in the path of the machine, they are restrained from escaping laterally by the blasts of air from the blowers 40 and are driven into the hopper by the blast of air issuing through the nozzle 5|. As in the first-described blowers, the elongated nozzle 5| provides a wall-like blast of air which is downwardly and rearwardly directed forwardly of the hopper. Thus, as the insects are disturbed, they are blown into the hop-per and therein destroyed by the crushing action of the rollers 25 and 26.

Any suitable means may be provided for driving the rollers 25 and 26, the agitators 36 and the impeller shafts 4| and 48. In the embodiment shown, a sprocket 52 is fixed to the left-hand ground wheel 14 for rotation therewith as the device is rolled over the ground. A drive chain 53 is engaged with the sprocket 52 and passes over a smaller sprocket 54 fixed on a cross-shaft 55 journaled in the journal-providing member 47 of the extensions 46. A pulley 56 is likewise fixed on the cross-shaft 55 for rotation therewith and is connected by a belt 5'1 to a smaller pulley 58 fixed on the impeller shaft 48. As is apparent from Figure l, the gearing described is a speedincreasing gearing, whereby comparatively slow rotation of the ground wheel l4 results in comparatively rapid rotation of the impeller 49. Thus, substantially strong blasts of air are discharged through the nozzle 5|.

As best seen in Figures 1 and 2, the lower run of the drive chain 53 passes around an idler roller 59 journaled on a stub shaft 60 fixed to the lefthand side frame member ID. The effect of this arrangement is to offset a portion of the lower run of the chain 53 and cause the same to be forced into driving engagement with a sprocket 6| fixed on a stub shaft 62 likewise secured to or journaled in the left-hand side frame member ID. The shaft 62 likewise has fixed thereon an outer sprocket 63 which is connected by a chain 64 to a lower sprocket 65 fixed on the shaft 24 for the lowermost roller 26. The shaft 24 likewise has an externally-toothed spur gear fixed thereon inwardly of the sprocket 65, which spur gear 66 is in mesh with a spur gear 61 fixed on the shaft 23 for the uppermost crushing roller 25. Thus, the crushing rollers 26 and 25 are positively driven from the drive chain 53. A tensioning roller 68 is j ournaled on a stub shaft 69 fixed on a tensioning arm 16. The arm 10 is provided with a longitudinal slot H which slidably receives a threaded stud l2 fixed to the left-hand side frame member I D. A nut 13 on the end of the stud 12 will tighten the adjusting arm 10 in a selected adjusted position relative to the chain 64.

The countershaft 62 extends entirely across the machine and outwardly of the right-hand side frame member 10. As best seen in Figure 2, the right hand end of the countershaft 52 has fixed thereon a pinion 14 which is in mesh with a smaller pinion 15 fixed on a stub shaft 16 journaled in the right-hand side frame member ID. The stub shaft 16 likewise has fixed thereon inwardly of the gear 15 a sprocket H which is connected by a chain 18- to a sprocket 19 fixed on the'cross-shaft 2'! aforesaid. The shaft 2! like- Wise has fixed on the opposite end thereof outanon wardlyizw'theusprocketflll on:oneisidet androutr wardlyr'ofthe ieftehand side frame member I 0 on tho'mtheii: sidet a gear .80 which is in constant l'neslnwith aipinion 81 fixed on thekupper' end-of eaohnimp'ell'er.wshafti4| for the blowers '40. It slioltldobe noted inthis connection that the gear lids s-inaller.-.=:thanv theti pinion lll, :while the smocked- 1 8 is smaller thansthe: sprocket l1, lea-Y speed-increasing. gearingris provided between thevicountershaft' 6'2 and the: impeller shaftsill :Thu's; thezblasts tfromvthe blowers 4B ere substantially strong in view of the increased speedito'f rotation thereof;

whilerli ziiavashown andidescrib'eda particular foxinstoit drivermeans for the 'severaltmoving parts, it? obvious itha'taiother drive-means may be Weds: :.L.

' Referringnrow to the-modification of Figure '5; thdtstructurel anddrive means: is the same except that the agitators- 36 and "associated parts have bemseliniinated; :This is readily accomplished bjlklisconnecting zthe" journals r40 fromthe front edgesof thdside. frame members -I 0 and discon meeting;zltheiccross shaftr3l and pitmans 29 from thet'zcramlc pinsifin. Thereafter the guides 34 are tvlthdraivn from'the sockets 35 of the front crossmem-bemim-s f-with the agitators Biland associated artsxremovedya cross-skid 9i] is substitilted-11 rzzuthea shoes ll,-which areremoved also; The; hit, "is preferably' formed of sheet metal andiisof tr ough like configuration. iThe skid 90 is 1 provided with" a cross-frame member 9 l which seats in that portion of thenotch l9 not occu piedhbyithe-front cross=frame member 18. The rear end of the skid 90 is supported with a pair of bracket arms'Ql provided-with a plurality of holesz-92.---:,-Any suitable bolt 93'is inserted through one of the holes 92 and into a side frame mem ber to support .the forward end of the hopper in a selected adjusted position relative to the surfacegv'of the ground. The purpose of this particelar -structu-re is to provide-"a device for use With the "grasses;- whereby to disturb insects inhabitinglow growing grasses'and cause them to fly npwardlyin the path-of tliehopper. 'The'reafter the grasses spring upwardly from their own resiliency without being damaged.

While I have shown and described what are now thought to be the preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of other forms and expressions. Consequently, I do not limit myself to the precise structures shown and described hereinabove except as hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. In an insect destroyer, a pair of vertically disposed frame members arranged in spaced relation, a horizontally disposed axle extending transversely of said frame members adjacent the lower ends thereof and journaled in said members, a transversely disposed hopper positioned adjacent the upper ends of said frame members forwardly of and spaced from said axle and carried by said frame members, said hopper having the inlet end facing the upper ends of said frame members and having the outlet end adjacent to and spaced from the lower ends of the latter, a pair of rotatable superimposed contacting rollers arranged transversely of said frame members adjacent to the outlet end of said hopper for receiving and crushing the insects discharged through the outlet end of said hopper, means extending transversely of said frame members arranged forwardly of said hopper and dependingly supported from said frame members for disturb- 6 ing-J insects: on wegetationr onzza. ground resurface adjacent :;thereto-,. ..a vertically :disposed blower housing positioned adjacentiito said: :hopper ex-l teriorly'ofeacha of said framelmembers andspaced from: each rof said fram'e' members; an impeller positioned within each of said-rhousings and mounted for -rotation' about' a vertical axis; each of said housings being provided with a dis charge nozzle extending 1 longitudinally thereof. and facing away from said h'opperfor discharge ing a blast of air forwardly of said hopper; a horizontally i disposed blowerhousing "extending transversely of said frame" members positioned aboveand forwardly of said-verticallydisposed blower housings and carried bysaid frame members, and an impellerpositioned *Within said horizontally disposed'blower housing and mounted for rotation abouta horizontal axis;said-horizontally disposed housing being provided" with'a discharge nozzle extending longitudinally thereof and facing-toward saidh'opperfor discharging,

a blast-of air downwardly-and forwardly of said hopper."

2. In -'an'insect destroyer, a pair of vertically disposed frame members arranged in spaced relation, ahorizonta'lly disposed axle'extending trans: versely-of said frame members'adja'cent' the lower ends thereof and journaled'in said members, a transversely-disposed hopper positioned adjacent the upper ends of saidframe members forwardly of and=-spaced-from""said axleand carried by said frame members; said hopper-havingthe inlet end'facing the upper ends of saidfra'me-members and having the outlet end adjacent to and-spaced from the lower'ends of the latter, a pair of rotat= able" superimposed contacting rollers arranged transversely of said frame members adjacent-to the outlet end of said hopperfor receiving and crushing the insects dischargedthroughthe outlet-endof said-hopper, a plurality of agitator fingers extending transversely of said frame members arranged forwardly of said hopper and depending-1y supported from said'frame members fordisturbing insects on vegetation on aground surface adjacent thereto; a vertically disposed blower housing positioned adjacent to said hopper exteriorly of each of said frame members and spaced from each of said frame members, an impeller positioned within each of said housings and mounted for rotation about a vertical axis, each of said housings being provided with a discharge nozzle extending longitudinally thereof and facing away from said hop-per for discharging a blast of air forwardly of said hopper, a horizontally disposed blower housing extending transversely of said frame members positioned above and forwardly of said vertically disposed blower housings and carried by said frame members, and an impeller positioned within said horizontally disposed blower housing and mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis, said horizontally disposed housing being provided with a discharge nozzle extending longitudinally thereof and facing toward said hopper for discharging a blast of air downwardly and forwardly of said hopper.

3. In an insect destroyer, a pair of vertically disposed frame members arranged in spaced relation, a horizontally disposed axle extending transversely of said frame members adjacent the lower ends thereof and journaled in said members, a transversely disposed hopper positioned adjacent the upper ends of said frame members forwardly of and spaced from said axle and carried by said frame members, said hopper having the inlet end facing the upper ends of said frame 7 members and having the outlet end adjacent to and spaced from the lower ends of the latter, a pair of rotatable superimposed contacting rollers arrangedtransversely of said frame members adjacent to the outlet end of said hopper for receiving and crushing the insects discharged through the outlet end of said hopper, a skid ex tending transversely of said frame members arranged forwardlyof said hopper and dependingly supported from said frame members for disturbing insects on vegetation on a ground surface adjacent thereto, a vertically disposed blower housing positioned adjacent to said hopper exteriorly of each of said frame members and spaced from each of said frame members, an impeller positioned within each of said housings and mounted for rotation about a vertical axis, each of said housings being provided with a discharge nozzle extending longitudinally thereof and facing away from said hopper for discharging a blast of air forwardly of said hopper, a horizontally disposed blower housing extending transversely of said lation, a horizontally disposed axle extending transversely of said frame members adjacent the lower ends thereof and journaled in said members, a transversely disposed hopper positioned adjacent the upper ends of said frame members forwardly of and spaced from said axle and carried by said frame members, said hopper having the inlet end facing the upper ends of said frame members and having the outlet end adjacent to and spaced from the lower ends of the latter, a pairof rotatable superimposed contacting rollers arranged transversely of said frame member's*ad+ jacent to the outlet end of said hopper-for; receiving and crushing the: insects discharged through the outlet end of said hopper, a plurality of agitator fingers extending transversely of said frame members arranged forwardly of said hopper and dependingly supported fromvsaid frame members-for disturbing insects on vegetationon a ground surface adjacent thereto, runners arranged rearwardly of said fingers and 'belowlsaid frame members and secured. to the latter for engaging said groundsurface, a vertically disposed blower housing positioned adjacent to said hopper exteriorly, of each of said frame members and spaced from each'of said frame members, an impellerpositioned within each of said housings and mounted for rotation about a; vertical axis, each of said housings being provided'with a discharge nozzle'extendinglongitudinally there ofand facing away from said hopper for dis charginga blast-of air forwardly of said hopper, the horizontally disposed blowerhousing extend ing transversely of; said frame .members posi-. tioned above and forwardly of said vertically disposed blower housings and carried by said frame members, and an impeller positioned Within said horizontally disposed blower housing and mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis, said hori-, zontally disposed housing being provided-with a 1 discharge nozzle extending longitudinally. there-' file of this patent:

' UNITED STATES PATENTS I Date.

Number Name I v 931,440 Lindahl Aug. 17, 1909 1,012,437 1 Rea et al Dec. 19, 1911 1,489,214 Hickman Apr. l, 1921 Harris June 24,1924; 

